tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919631102243889689.post6919351664128047215..comments2015-03-03T15:07:35.868-05:00Comments on Mothers in Medicine: MiM Mail: How do you do it?KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02114277144629595998noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919631102243889689.post-907991516212568232013-10-25T10:41:34.223-04:002013-10-25T10:41:34.223-04:00You should definitely negotiate at least one half-...You should definitely negotiate at least one half-day of &quot;admin time&quot;...all the full-time clinical docs I know (and the NPs, we don&#39;t have PAs in our division), do 8-9 half-day clinics/week---it is not possible to do 10 clinics a week and NOT get really really behind on paperwork/phone calls. Trying to delegate as much as possible to support staff (calling back normal labs, easy questions).<br />I know nothing first-hand about Derm, but I imagine there are a LOT less labs, and a lot less meds, and overall less illnesses to focus on during a visit---so notes less complicated. Maybe you can talk to the other provider there and see what kind of work-load there is, and if it seems reasonable, go for it!anahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18320182732889825712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919631102243889689.post-13119152561932050372013-10-23T11:26:48.982-04:002013-10-23T11:26:48.982-04:00The beauty of being a physician, at least in inter...The beauty of being a physician, at least in internal medicine and pediatrics, is that there are a variety of jobs and work situations out there to fit a variety of needs. In terms of your specific situation as a PA, there are also a variety of job options and reimbursement set-ups. I agree with what Mommabee suggested in terms of talking with the supervising physician about what&#39;s going on to see if you can improve your hours. If it&#39;s a matter of work flow or work load, that can be improved, assuming the physician is willing to work with you, whether it&#39;s with cutting back on your patients scheduled, or how the patients are being worked up, or what the nurses do to follow up. After a good effort at improving things, if you still can&#39;t meet your needs, perhaps you should look for a different job. <br /><br />Work-life balance is always an issue for any working woman/mom. I personally do not take any hospital call, and only do outpatient because it allows me to spend more time at home with the kids. I make less money than my colleagues, and I accept that in exchange for fewer hours. It&#39;s possible to find that balance, but it has to be the right job and the right environment in order to make it work! Kellyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11061761199757469422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919631102243889689.post-29241141850173772142013-10-21T22:38:51.258-04:002013-10-21T22:38:51.258-04:00The only solution I have found is to become more e...The only solution I have found is to become more efficient, and (unfortunately) spend less time with patients. Unless someone is sobbing in front of me, I have the entire note written by the time I leave the exam room, or if I have to finish a few things, I make sure to finish the note before moving onto the next patient. It&#39;ll take me 2 minutes then, but it&#39;ll take 5 min to get back into the note, remember where I was, and finish it off if I have to come back to it later. Over 20 patients a day, that&#39;s an extra hour of note writing.<br />For labs, etc., I send messages to my MA who actually calls patients if they need to be called. I sign off on them first thing in the morning, between patients, during no-shows, during lunch, etc. I never ever stay late unless EMS is on their way, because I have to pick up my kids on time, which is non-negotiable. And since I like my kids more than any patient I&#39;ve ever met, it keeps moving quickly through the day.Theresahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10593050926999478821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919631102243889689.post-11270833204414034742013-10-21T21:29:39.384-04:002013-10-21T21:29:39.384-04:00DISCLAIMER: I am a Peds Resident who is just start...DISCLAIMER: I am a Peds Resident who is just starting to look into the business-side of medicine, I am new to negotiations and new to a &quot;real career&quot; (ie, reading some magazines and talking to folks as I prepare for third year job searches): <br /><br />Before looking into other work, make sure to talk to your employer. I have heard it said that women make less money in part because we don&#39;t negotiate well enough and we don&#39;t advocate for what we deserve. Sounds like your last job made you lose your voice and as you move forward you&#39;ve got to find it to get what you want. <br /> <br />Sit down with your boss:<br />1. reflect on what a great job you are doing (toot your own horn a bit)<br />2. discuss major responsibilities and detail what you believed your job requirements were prior to employment and what they really are now<br />3. discuss major areas for &quot;improvement/ enhancement&quot; (I am trying to word this positively) (as you stated &quot;working late, bringing work home, and working on the weekends&quot;) <br />4. ask for honest feedback (does your boss think you are working too slow, does your boss think you aren&#39;t spending enough time on certain aspects and too much on others, etc . . .) and be prepared for honest answers<br />5. develop with achievable short-term goals (ie, within 4 weeks, I plan to not do work on the weekends) and long-term goals (ie, by the beginning of 2014, I plan to not do work on the weekends or holidays and find time to expand our practice by -----). <br /><br />Test this out with your spouse or ask advice from another friend who is great at negotiating. <br /><br />Hope this helps! Please keep us posted. Mommabeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05254717057451379965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2919631102243889689.post-68679742955440042572013-10-21T07:08:28.238-04:002013-10-21T07:08:28.238-04:00How many hours a week are you scheduled for patien...How many hours a week are you scheduled for patients, and how are you paid? Do you run behind during your patient hours? How long have you been at this practice - are you still getting accustomed to the computer system or do you feel like you have it down?<br /><br />To make this work - and you can - you need to manage your time in the exam room well, and be able to triage the paperwork. Learn to do agenda setting with patients by using the exhaustive &quot;what else?&quot; and then explicitly setting an agenda (&quot;We have about 15 minutes together today. What do we need to make sure we get to?&quot;) <br /><br />Does your office have a system for notifying patients of normal lab results, or are you calling everyone? I ordered labs in general to be done a week before f/u appointments and then reviewed the results with the patient when she came in. <br /><br />I am very very efficient but could not cope with more than 35 hours a week of appointments. Jayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15886225476339783827noreply@blogger.com